Rohit & Suresh isn’t a law firm (could be), or a hairdressing salon (should be). They’re the first names of the two men who helped India to a series victory over England and put a halt to Indian cricket’s mini-slump.

Suresh Raina is easily the more established and steady of the two. For Oasis fans, he’s the Noel Gallagher to Rohit Sharma’s frustratingly unreliable Liam. Both have talent, but only one has consistently shown he has what it takes to perform on the big stage.

But on Wednesday in Punjab the duo sparked with pitch-perfect performances (apart from Raina’s dropped catch) that were central to India’s five-wicket victory over England and an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five match series. The decision to include Sharma, as an opening batsman no less, proved to be a masterplan.

Too many Oasis references? Some might say, yes. Whatever, the two forced England to acquiesce (ok, too many) that India is the better One-Day International side, a fact reflected in its climb to the top of the rankings table.

Raina has had a fantastic series, scoring three half centuries in as many innings. The 26-year-old, still not a regular in the Test team, hit 50 in the first match in Rajkot, 55 in Kochi and 89 not out in Mohali Wednesday. He even had the decency not to bat in Ranchi, which was hosting its first international match, so that captain and hometown hero Mahendra Singh Dhoni could go out and hit the winning runs. He also took two wickets, including figures of one over, one wicket, one run in Ranchi. Bravo.

Sharma, on the other hand, hadn’t featured at all in this series. He frustrates Indian cricket fans perhaps more than any other player, and his inclusion yesterday was greeted with a fair amount of suspicion and mirth. People ask how he still remains in the Indian cricket picture – he seems to get more chances than anyone else, and has even been described as the Indian cricket board’s “son-in-law”.

But he bought himself some time and breathing space with his 83 in Mohali Wednesday. Raina won man-of-the-match for guiding India to the target of 257 with a couple of overs to spare, but Sharma’s innings was just as significant.

If only he could do this more often, said no English fan. In his previous four outings for India, in ODIs and Twenty20’s, the 25-year-old – who made his international debut back in 2007 – scored four, four (not out), two and 24. He has played a 87 ODIs for India, but the fact that the Mohali game was the first time he featured this series speaks volumes about this his inconsistency at the top level.

Sharma was brought in Wednesday at the expense of Ajinkya Rahane, who was glaringly outdone by the pace of Steven Finn in the previous two games.

Ishara S. Kodikara/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Rohit Sharma in Colombo, Oct. 2, 2012.

Speaking of Finn, the outcome in Mohali could have been different if he’d managed to control his uncontrollable knee. The lofty English bowler has long had a problem with knocking off the bails in his delivery stride, and he strayed again Wednesday. Disappointingly for England, it happened with a delivery that deceived Raina into edging a catch to Alastair Cook in the slips. Umpire Steve Davis ruled that the Indian batsman was not out. Fair enough, Finn needs to control his knees.

England can have no complaints. After winning the first match of the series, the visitors have been consistently outplayed by a resurgent India. Wednesday’s game was a big improvement on the previous two performances, but the likes of Eoin Morgan and Ian Bell have been poor since scoring 41 and 85 respectively in the first match.

There’s great hope in Joe Root, the only Englishman to rival Raina’s spectacular record this series. The 22-year-old, on his first ODI tour, has scored 132 runs in four matches, with his best coming in a 57 not out Wednesday. England must wish the likes of Morgan had shown such maturity.

For India, Sharma came of age, again. Whether or not he can maintain this, and his spot at the top of the batting order, remains to be seen. But he’ll surely get another chance in the final match of this series, on Sunday in the picturesque setting of Dharamsala, to be wonderwall wonderful.

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